5 states drowning in underwater mortgages

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http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/09/10626408-5-states-drowning-in-underwater-mortgages

As home prices continue to slide, more and more homeowners find themselves owing more on their homes than those houses are worth. The slowing level of foreclosure activity last year only exacerbated the problem, leaving more homes in trouble on the market.

Last week, Corelogic reported that the number of underwater mortgages as a percentage of all mortgaged homes rose in the fourth quarter of 2011 to its highest level since 2009, the first year the property analytics provider began reporting the data.

According to Corelogic’s Negative Equity report, the mortgages on more than 11.1 million homes, or 22.8 percent of the nation’s 48.7 million mortgaged homes, are underwater. Based on Corelogic’s report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 states with the highest percentage of underwater mortgages.

Some of the states with a high percentage of underwater mortgages had economic problems long before the recent recession. States such as Michigan and Rhode Island have experienced long-term industrial declines for some time. In these areas, drops in home values were only accelerated by the recession.

[AlyanaR]

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